Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to witness Governor Laura Kelly sign HB 2208, a historic piece of legislation establishing Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in the state of Kansas. This is a big moment. This bill will provide a significant boost in funding for community mental health centers across the state, including Wyandot BHN. This funding allows us to increase access to timely care. By increasing access to care, we put ourselves in a better position to address the suicide crisis and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and incarcerations.
Back in February, Wyandot BHN received a CCBHC grant from SAMHSA. Through this grant funding, we have had the opportunity to add some new services and enhance some other services. This includes Wyandot Center being licensed by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) to provide outpatient substance use disorder treatment services for adults and adolescents. Additionally, PACES now has an agreement with community corrections to provide substance use disorder treatment for justice-involved youth in Wyandotte County. We are also creating a mobile crisis response program. We know that individuals can’t always make it to one of our treatment centers when they are in a crisis. This new program will make it easier for us to respond to mental health crises in the community. We are also working to make sure that individuals don’t have to wait for an intake by creating an open access department for adult services. It often takes years for someone to seek services for a mental health challenge. Our open access department will help to ensure that someone can walk in and receive help when they are ready.
One of the key pieces of the CCBHC model is the integration of primary care and behavioral health care. We know that the mind and body talk to each other. We want to change our culture and improve our care model to more effectively respond to the full continuum of health care needs. To accomplish this, we will be working with Vibrant Health to ensure that the individuals we serve have access to the care they need.
As we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that the need for mental health treatment is only going to increase. The implementation of the CCBHC model will put us in a better position to effectively and efficiently meet those needs here in Wyandotte County. Through a heightened focus on using data to drive decisions about programs, as well as decisions about individual treatment plans, we can improve outcomes for the individuals we serve. That is how we create a healthy, thriving community.